Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Are Bringing The Classic Games Back
Konami actually produced most of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games, starting with 1989 release for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and as an arcade game available on the classic arcade machines.
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Konami just announced the retro Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games collection, called The Cowabunga Collection, at Sony’s latest State of Play event. The collection is to be released as part of the collaboration between Konami, which acquired the gaming rights to the franchise in the late ’80s, Nickelodeon, which purchased the franchise, and Digital Eclipse — a retro-game collection expert. It’s also worth noting that the bundled titles come with several minor improvements that would entice the current generation of players as well, who will probably have to fight their parents for a console controller.
As reported by The Verge, the aforementioned trio of companies bundled up a baker’s dozen of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gaming titles into a singular title called The Cowabunga Collection. Titles that span the golden age of arcades to Sega Genesis and Game Boy consoles will let players, especially the ’80s gaming-loving youth, relive the joy of Konami’s classic TMNT games. The Cowabunga Collection trailer debuted on Sony’s State of Play on Wednesday, offering a taste of what’s included in the upcoming TMNT games collections. You can check out the trailer below:
Konami actually produced most of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games, starting with 1989 release for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and as an arcade game available on the classic arcade machines. However, while bearing the same title, the games were ultimately different, prompting Konami to port the latter for NES as TMNT II: The Arcade Game. This led to an NES-only sequel, TMNT III: The Manhattan Project.
The next TNMT called Turtles in Time was released as an arcade game; later ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. This title spawned another one, called TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist, which was released for Sega Genesis the very same year. Game Boy handheld had a trilogy of its own, consisting of TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan, TMNT II: Back from the Sewers, and TMNT: Radical Rescue.
However, as the television series’ popularity began to decline in the mid-’90s, Konami released a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES, SNES, and Genesis, each being a distinct game. All 13 titles are now being bundled up into a single collection, with added features, such as online play, button mapping, a rewind feature, and improved textures. It’s worth noting that the other game makers also released their TNMT titles, like Ubisoft, which acquired the rights in 2006, and launched their game in 2007 to somewhat positive reviews.
Activision’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, which was released in 2012, was horrible in every possible way. We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: leave it to Activision to ruin a good gaming franchise, e.g., James Bond games. Apparently, nothing can beat the classics — they’re called classics for a reason. The Cowabunga Collection still doesn’t have an official release date, but it’s supposed to launch on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC, priced at approx. $40.
